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Monthly Archives: November 2011

When I was trying to decide what to call this blog, I started thinking about the kind of person I want most to be compared to (favorably, of course). Being a teacher of reading, I decided I didn’t want to limit myself to only real characters, and comprised a list that ran something like this (in no particular order):

Essentially, I got to thinking about Anne, and Hermione. Now, I love Anne Shirley. She’s everything a redhead could want to admire: a smart, funny and hardworking girl who wins the affections of Gilbert Blythe, the town hero and golden boy. Yeah, she’s orphaned, but hope springs eternal with Anne. Excepting the change in her affections for Gilbert (which signifies a large change, but still) Anne remains basically the same girl she was, start to finish.

And then I thought about Hermione. A bossy know it all, concealing her insecurities and fear behind books and being “smart.” Doesn’t that just sound like me? Hermione sticks with her friends, even when it’s not popular, and though her love is not the golden boy, he is a hero and a good but flawed man (Ronald Weasley, how I adore you!) Hermione’s practicality is nothing dazzling, nothing spectacular, but it is a key factor in Harry’s victory over Lord Voldemort and the rest of the evil minions. Hermione does not allow her fear to define her-she allows it to motivate her and drive her.

So it is, from here on out, that I pledge to do my best to embody the qualities Hermione personifies so well, to an audience who, though sometimes annoyed by her, ultimately appreciate her.